<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=4BOc0C_0wBPmiUL00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4BOc0C_0wBPmiUL00" width="1140" height="570" ><figcaption>Image via Warner Bros.</figcaption></figure>Stephen King is considered one of the masters of horror, and has been one of the biggest names in popular literature for the past five decades. He's so prolific that it's hard to keep track of all his books, as well as the films that have adapted his work. Some are better than others, but the best Stephen King adaptations include highly acclaimed cinematic giants such as The Shawshank Redemption and The Shining. These movies generally have many great qualities, and the acting is one of them.Changes are often made when adapting a fully-drawn character to the screen (Red from Shawshank and Wendy from Stanley Kubrick's The Shining are perhaps the two biggest examples), so the best performances aren't necessarily ones that are true to the source material. Instead, they must be true to the script and the director's overall vision. They aren't necessarily scary either, since not all of King's greatest movies belong to the horror genre. Ranked by performances, the ten best Stephen King movies with great acting immerse the audience in the main characters' psyches, communicate the story's themes, and stir the viewers in ways that make them return for another watch.<h2>10 'Apt Pupil' (1998) </h2><h2>Directed by Bryan Singer </h2><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=38YCFk_0wBPmiUL00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=38YCFk_0wBPmiUL00" width="1650" height="825" ><figcaption>Image via Sony Pictures Releasing</figcaption></figure>Apt Pupil wouldn't be worth watching without Sir Ian McKellen, who essentially carries the movie on his back. His performance as a former Nazi hiding in America is utterly compelling throughout a largely mediocre film. This man is blackmailed into befriending a high school honor student (Brad Renfro) who is alarmingly fascinated by the man's disgraceful history. The boy's performance doesn't quite convince, but McKellen makes up for that and then some.As The New York Times' Janet Maslin wrote, "McKellen works all of his considerable wiles as a man who keeps his monstrousness under wraps" in an "irresistible" performance. Based on the novella of the same name from Stephen King's Different Seasons collection, Apt Pupil as boasts solid minor characters played by David Schwimmer, Michael Byrne, and Jan Triska. This is one of Ian McKellen's better movies, putting the audience into the mindset of a man whose terrible past catches up with him.<h2>9 'The Mist' (2007) </h2><h2>Directed by Frank Darabont </h2><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=4Utjsl_0wBPmiUL00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4Utjsl_0wBPmiUL00" width="825" height="413" ><figcaption>Image via Dimension Films</figcaption></figure>Films that largely restrict themselves to one setting have an uphill battle, as it's difficult to keep the viewers interested with such a restricted amount of imagery and space. This makes the narrative's success even more dependent on the actors than usual, and Frank Darabont's take on The Mist is able to overcome that obstacle with performances that make us believe the plot. The same can't quite be said for the special effects, but again—the actors pull enough weight to carry the audience along.The ensemble includes Thomas Jane, Marcia Gay Harden, Andre Braugher, who together help the viewer believe that everyone here is stuck in a supermarket and that evil creatures from another dimension are wreaking havoc outside. Different people have very different reactions to emergencies, and some are more responsible than others—a lesson about the human condition that the cast here conveys very well. It's not nearly as gripping as most of the other films on this list, but the acting still makes it worth a rewatch.<h2>8 'The Dead Zone' (1983) </h2><h2>Directed by David Cronenberg </h2><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=4Z1uym_0wBPmiUL00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4Z1uym_0wBPmiUL00" width="1650" height="825" ><figcaption>Image via Paramount Pictures</figcaption></figure>In The Dead Zone, Christopher Walken gives one of his best performances as a man who awakes up from a coma with the ability to see into people's pasts, presents, and futures. All he needs to do is hold someone's hand, and any urgent information about their personal lives or a loved one's flashes before his eyes. This starts off small-scale, as he tells his doctor about his mother, but his cases get more and more significant. The police ask him to help hunt down a serial killer, for instance, and he eventually becomes responsible for preventing World War III.This exponentially increasing sense of responsibility from this socially isolating blessing and curse is expressed through Walken's interpretation of the character. Likewise, the supporting characters hold their own as their individual stories keep the viewer in suspense as they wonder how far things will go. Martin Sheen comes in later, but he is no less compelling as a slick and dangerous presidential candidate.Watch on AMC+<h2>7 'The Shining' (1980) </h2><h2>Directed by Stanley Kubrick </h2><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=03veNm_0wBPmiUL00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=03veNm_0wBPmiUL00" width="1650" height="825" ><figcaption>Image via Warner Bros.&nbsp;</figcaption></figure>One of Stanley Kubrick's most celebrated films, The Shining is idiosyncratic in many ways. It significantly deviates from the novel (which upset Stephen King), it is much more artistic than most other horror films, and the lead performances are perceived by many as over-the-top. Specifically Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall, the latter of whom had an especially difficult time during production. Meanwhile, the secondary characters are played perfectly.The Shining is so allegorical that the performances at its center can be interpreted as archetypes of the American nuclear family: the violent, alcoholic father who doesn't seek help for his insecurities, the demure mother who loves her child and finds it difficult to connect with her distant husband, and the vulnerable child who needs an imaginary friend to cope. The film's subjectivity might also explain their behaviors as not "real" but essentially how they appear to each other. Mr. and Mrs. Torrence are thus distilled to the very real horrors they represent in western culture.<h2>6 'Carrie' (1976) </h2><h2>Directed by Brian De Palma </h2><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1eE0st_0wBPmiUL00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1eE0st_0wBPmiUL00" width="825" height="413" ><figcaption>Image via United Artists</figcaption></figure>The very first King adaptation from his very first novel, Carrie was a hit from the start. Directed by Brian De Palma, the film is about a lonely girl who is treated as an outcast at school and a sinner at home. Sissy Spacek plays the titular role perfectly, showing her insecurity, shyness, and her wish to be treated like any other girl. This is undoubtedly one of Spacek's best roles, as the audience watches someone so emotionally vulnerable get pushed to the edge.Piper Laurie does a tremendous job as Carrie White's extremely religious mother. If the viewer is heartless enough to not sympathize with Carrie after seeing what her school days are like, then her home-life is sure to change that. Spacek and Laurie were both nominated at the Oscars for their performances. There's also John Travolta, Nancy Allen, William Katt, and others who keep the story going at a brisk pace. In the end, it's hard to believe that Spacek wasn't De Palma's first choice for the role.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=4L5YHJ_0wBPmiUL00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4L5YHJ_0wBPmiUL00" width="960" height="1440" ></figure>Watch on AMC+<h2>5 'Stand By Me' (1986) </h2><h2>Directed by Rob Reiner </h2><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0WmgB1_0wBPmiUL00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0WmgB1_0wBPmiUL00" width="825" height="413" ><figcaption>Image via Columbia Pictures</figcaption></figure>A few of the best child actors' performances are in Rob Reiner's first Stephen King adaptation, Stand By Me. The late River Phoenix especially was given praise for his role as Chris Chambers, but Will Wheaton, Corey Feldman, and Jerry O'Connell are good, too. The heroes of the story aren't the only memorable characters, though; Kiefer Sutherland stands out as the head bully of the neighborhood. Even John Cusack makes an impression as Gordie's sorely missed older brother in a brief but moving flashback.Four friends venture into the Oregon wilderness to find a dead body, leading to an adventure where these kids confront the difficulties they have at home. This movie was even nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, and for good reason. It still holds up today (nearly 40 years after its release), as the actors elevate the material in a way that makes it feel timeless.<h2>4 'Misery' (1990) </h2><h2>Directed by Rob Reiner </h2><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1UFnfZ_0wBPmiUL00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1UFnfZ_0wBPmiUL00" width="825" height="413" ><figcaption>Image via Columbia Pictures</figcaption></figure>Misery is the only Stephen King adaptation to win an Oscar, and it's for Kathy Bates's role as nurse Annie Wilkes. After novelist Paul Sheldon (James Caan) gets into a car accident that leaves him in need of recovery before he can walk again, he's taken in by his number one fan: Annie. While she cares for him, Annie forces him to rewrite his final book in a series that she takes way too personally.Based on King's novel of the same name, Misery is thrilling chiefly because Kathy Bates does such a convincing job as Annie. Meanwhile, James Caan puts in one of his own best turns as a man who has to be nice to someone so clearly unhinged if he wants to escape. Despite these high-caliber actors, the material itself isn't treated as a horror film so much as a light thriller. This makes it one of the most accessible horror movies out there, as well as one of the best-acted.<h2>3 'Dolores Claiborne' (1995) </h2><h2>Directed by Taylor Hackford </h2><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3e1Vch_0wBPmiUL00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3e1Vch_0wBPmiUL00" width="825" height="413" ><figcaption>Image Via&nbsp;Columbia Pictures</figcaption></figure>Kathy Bates did a great job in Misery, but she arguably does just as well in Dolores Claiborne. In her second King adaptation, Bates marvelously embodies the title character, who is being investigated for the murder of her wealthy boss (a great Judy Parfitt). Christopher Plummer skillfully plays a cop who's convinced that Dolores not only killed that old woman but also murdered her own husband nearly twenty years before. Jennifer Jason Leigh is striking as Dolores's daughter Selena, whose relationship with her mother is strained.The more this mystery unravels, the more invested in the characters we become. It's such a compelling double-character study (of Dolores and Selena) that the viewer can still return to this after the first watch, as the main characters are so complex that watching their behavior offers new (if dark) insights into the human condition. This is largely due to the acting on display, which is top-tier in the realm of King adaptations.<h2>2 'The Green Mile' (1999) </h2><h2>Directed by Frank Darabont </h2><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=00JKo8_0wBPmiUL00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=00JKo8_0wBPmiUL00" width="825" height="413" ><figcaption>Image via Warner Bros.</figcaption></figure>Based on Stephen King's bulky but engrossing novel The Green Mile, Frank Darabont's adaptation is likewise on the long side but nonetheless absorbing. This is easier to do when Tom Hanks is in the lead role as Paul Edgecomb, who is in charge of death row at Cold Mountain Penitentiary. He supervises the prisoners and the other correctional officers (also well-played by David Morse, Doug Hutchison, and Barry Pepper).The prisoners are superbly drawn by the likes of Sam Rockwell and Michael Jeter, but the real star of the film is the late, great Michael Clark Duncan as John Coffey. Coffey may be a hulking figure accused of double-rape and homicide, but he's somehow also the kindest and most naive man on the block. Duncan was rightfully nominated for his astonishing and moving performance, which also no doubt contributed to the movie's nomination for Best Picture.<h2>1 'The Shawshank Redemption' (1994) </h2><h2>Directed by Frank Darabont </h2><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1mwyLG_0wBPmiUL00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1mwyLG_0wBPmiUL00" width="1650" height="825" ><figcaption>Image via Columbia Pictures</figcaption></figure>The Shawshank Redemption is extremely quotable, but it wouldn't have been had the actors not done such excellent work with the script. Morgan Freeman is one of the best voices to narrate a movie, and Shawshank is the most famous reason why. He also plays Red, a convicted murderer who calls himself the only guilty man at Shawshank and befriends Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins). Although the film largely revolves around Andy, Red is just as sympathetic and powerful of a character.Robbins puts in some of his best work as the soft-spoken banker in prison for allegedly killing his wife. The audience can see him gradually change over time into becoming more self-assured and willing to bend the rules to his (and his friends') advantage. Red's change is arguably more significant, though, and perhaps best encapsulated in the three distinct parole meetings he attends over twenty years. Along with other great actors, The Shawshank Redemption cannot be beat when it comes to performances that can both break and warm the viewer's heart.NEXT: 10 TV Shows Actually Praised by Stephen King</div></body>

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The 10 Best Stephen King Movies With Great Acting, Ranked

Stephen King is considered one of the masters of horror, and has been one of the biggest names in popular literature for the past five decades. He's so prolific that it's hard to keep track of all his books, as well as the films that have adapted his work. Some are better than others, but the best Stephen King adaptations include highly acclaimed cinematic giants such as The Shawshank Redemption and The Shining. These movies generally have many great qualities, and the acting is one of them.